Great Moments in Oakland: A hella good time at the Oakland Marathon

I believe that for every negative report you see or hear about Oakland, there are hundreds of wonderful people, places and moments that no one outside the city knows about. Few are considered worthy of much coverage, but these stories combine for something greater than the worst of the depressing headlines. So I’m starting an occasional series, Great Moments in Oakland, to provide a few glimpses of what I love about the city.

I shot the above (very amateur) video of my sons, ages 6 and 3, cheering on my wife while she was running the Oakland Running Festival half marathon. Be sure to check out Erin Allday’s coverage of the event in the Chronicle. Among other things, Erin interviewed the winner of the woman’s race, who gave birth six weeks ago. Yes, I had to read that twice, too.

This was Oakland at its best. The marathon and assorted races, in their third year, were well organized. But my favorite moments came out on the race course, which once again winded throughout the city. We drove to 28th and Market in West Oakland — approximately the 9-mile mark in the half marathon — to look for my wife. Going by nothing but the news reports that come from West Oakland, you would never want to set foot there. It turned out to be the best time we had this week.

The corner was just a random block on the course. (I chose it because I thought the timing fit with my wife’s pace.) But it still felt like a party. There were residents outside their apartments and houses cheering the runners — I heard many shouts of “Let’s go Oakland!” and “Good job, Oakland!” coming from the spectators. I orchestrated the sign for the wife, but didn’t put the kids up to the high-fives. One of the runners spontaneously slapped hands with my older son, and pretty soon both boys were high-fiving the masses.

Later, we walked a block and a half and stumbled across a garage band playing “Gloria” for the runners in a garage along San Pablo Avenue. I don’t think it was anything set up by the marathon organizers — just a band that wanted to play for an appreciative river of people.

My wife says it was like that all over. There were at least eight bands playing along the route. The Crucible built an arch of fire and fire-breathing horse for runners to enjoy. Lake Merritt was packed with people cheering on the runners. She says she was in worse shape than her last half marathon in Monterey, but she said it was easier to complete because of the positive vibes of the crowd.

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did. Thanks Oakland for the hella good time.

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Contact him at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook.